Here’s What To Expect From Black Pride 2025

This year marks 20 years of UK Black Pride, Europe’s largest celebration dedicated to LGBTQI+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American, and Middle Eastern descent. Like all the best events, it was born out of a need for connection, a small gathering of Black lesbian activists in Southend-on-Sea, and has grown over the last two decades into an enormous annual festival attracting more than 25,000 attendees. 

Dr Lady Phyll Opoku-Gyimah was one of that small group, and is the co-founder and chief executive of Black Pride, very much at the helm of making the event bigger and better every year. The annual summer festival features a diverse line-up of performers, talks, workshops and community stalls, and its reach goes beyond the boundaries of the event, into a movement for social justice. Here, we speak to Lady Phyll about what to expect from this year’s special anniversary event. 

When Is UK Black Pride 2025?

The 20th anniversary of UK Black Pride will take place on 10 August 2025, from 12pm-8pm. 

Where?

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London

How? 

Attendance is free. Stay tuned to ukblackpride.org.uk for line-up announcements and more information. 

Dr Lady Phyll Opoku-Gyimah Q&A

Can you tell us briefly the Black Pride origin story?

UK Black Pride began in 2005 as a bold, necessary response to the lack of space for Black and Brown LGBTQI+ people to feel seen, celebrated, and safe. It was born out of a conversation amongst friends, during a trip to Southend-on-Sea, where we realised we needed something that truly reflected our lives and our loves, something for us, by us. What started as a small, intimate gathering has grown into the world’s largest celebration for LGBTQI+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern descent. At its core, it’s a movement rooted in love, resistance, and community.

And could you tell us a little about your story?

I’m a proud British-Ghanaian woman, a lesbian, an organiser, a mother and someone who has always believed in the power of community and collective action. I began my career in the civil service and trade union movement, where I learnt about workers’ rights, solidarity, and the importance of fighting for what’s just. Over time, that journey evolved into one of activism and advocacy, human rights particularly around issues of race, gender, class and sexuality. I co-founded UK Black Pride because I saw the gaps, the places where people like me weren’t reflected or represented, and I’ve spent my life trying to fill them, not just with visibility, but with real change and joy.

What can we expect at Black Pride in 2025?

UK Black Pride 2025 will be even more electric, defiant, and joyful than ever before. We’re always evolving, but our essence remains the same: creating a space of safety, celebration, and radical love. Expect world-class performances, powerful speeches, healing spaces, community stalls, food from across the diaspora, and, above all, an atmosphere where everyone is invited to show up fully as themselves. We’re building a future together, one where Black and Brown queer joy is centred, honoured, and amplified.

Who is welcome at Black Pride and is there anyone who should think twice before attending/taking up space?

UK Black Pride is for everyone who believes in freedom, equality, and the beauty of intersectionality. That said, we are unapologetically centring Black and Brown LGBTQI+ people. So, if you’re coming into the space, come with respect, humility, and an understanding that this is not about being the loudest in the room, but about lifting others. If your presence is performative, or you’re not ready to honour the space or the people in it, then yes, perhaps this isn’t the place for you.

There are a lot of people who will be feeling concerned about their rights with the current political situation: how important are events and organisations like yours to offer help and support?

Now more than ever, spaces like UK Black Pride are critical. We’re living through a time of increased hostility, where our communities, especially trans people, migrants, and people of colour, are under sustained attack. In the face of that, we must continue to carve out spaces of care, resistance, and belonging. UK Black Pride isn’t just a one-day event; it’s a lifeline, a political act, a community rooted in love and resilience. We remind people that they are not alone, and that’s powerful.

Black Pride: a celebration, a protest, or both?

Always both. UK Black Pride is joyful and political. It’s the sound of music, laughter, and chosen family, but also the roar of voices demanding justice, equality, and liberation. Our very existence in this world, especially as queer Black and Brown people, is a protest. But we do not live only in our pain, we live in our pleasure, our beauty, and our brilliance too.

And finally, what’s one thing you should know before attending Black Pride this year?

Come with an open heart and a willingness to listen, learn, and love. This isn’t just a party, it’s a space of profound connection and solidarity. Whether it’s your first time or your 15th, prepare to be moved. And wear something fabulous, because we show up and show out.

Keep In The Loop

You can keep up to date with the latest information about UK Black Pride on social media and our website ukblackpride.org.uk